MG34 MMG/HMG Assembly

[Nigel Heather]

Hi,

One of my pet hates with Warlord Games (and other wargame miniature manufacturers) is the complete lack of assembly instructions and diagrams.

Getting some blisters feels like “here are some parts, guess which bits are flash and what is meant to be there and guess how it fits together.

Anyway the one that has me stumped at the moment is the MG34 and tripod.

This is what I have in the blister.

First the easy one, the MG34 itself.  I have a lump of something on the handle which is obviously surplus but I’m not sure just how much of it is surplus.  What should the handle like – trying to work out whether it is mis-moulded or there is a fair amount of material to remove.

But it is the tripod that has me puzzled.  It seems to be supplied as a single 2D piece which must be bent somehow to make a 3D assembly.  But it can’t be meant until cuts are made (because it is fixed at both ends) but I;m not sure what to bend and how to bend it.

Cheers,

Nigel

 

 

• This topic was modified 4 years, 6 months ago by Nigel Heather.
• This topic was modified 4 years, 6 months ago by Nigel Heather.

Attachments:

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   MG34.jpg
   

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   MG34-1.jpg
   

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   Tripod.jpg
   

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   Tripod-1.jpg
   

[Darin]

They used to have a location on there website that had the diagrams for putting together alot of there resin/metal models…since the upgrade to thete website i havent been able to find it…

[Nigel Heather]

Think I have worked out what they are trying to do.  But getting pretty fed up of having to watch youtube videos and google pictures every time I have to assemble a Warlord Games model.

I’ve found this photo – it’s an MG42 but same principle.

In the Warlord Games model they are depicting the Lafette mount in a quite unusual, half deployed.

The lump of flash on the end of the pistol grip is actually meant to be part of the mount that I have labelled A in the photo.  I might of cut part of it off, can’t be sure.  If so will have to fabricate something – can’t be any worse than WG’s attempt.

The thick legs are actually two parts of the same leg.  I have labelled B in the photo – the WG model depicts the mount where the leg hasn’t been fully unfolded.  It has webbing joining the legs because it would be too fragile to mould and use, I imagine.

The front leg, which I have labelled C in the photo has not be retracted.

The overall effect is a low deployment of the mount – I have found some photos suggesting this was possible, but not many suggesting it was unusual.  In many cases, even with the low deployment they usually retracted the back legs fully.

Found a photo which shows the unusual prone position for the lafette tripod, suspect they have only done it because it is up on a wall.

Cheers,

Nigel

 

 

• This reply was modified 4 years, 6 months ago by Nigel Heather.
• This reply was modified 4 years, 6 months ago by Nigel Heather.
• This reply was modified 4 years, 6 months ago by Nigel Heather.

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   Lafette-Prone.jpg
   

[invisible officer]

Oh you young peopes, old gamers like me started in pre internet time and got nothing but books. (And had to walk 15 miles through snow to school 😉 )

The Schweres Maschinengewehr Lafette had some high settings to offer best arc  of fire and cover combination. So the Warlord Version is not unusual.

 

The main difference to LMG was the Visor / Tiefenstreueinrichtung combo that helped to give controled fire on an area.

 

I tried to take an explaining pic from my model, I hope it helps a bit.  That Warlord casted front and back of Lafette in one part is an advantage, less fiddly.

• This reply was modified 4 years, 6 months ago by invisible officer.

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[Greg S]

I tend to first look at Warlord’s pictures, second google it.  If that doesn’t yield the answer, wing it – so long as the model looks ok on the table top no-one is going to question if there’s a small bit missing.

I dropped my German sniper figure not once, but three times, during assembly and painting.  The third time his gun barrel broke but no one has noticed it or questioned it.  I am the only one who knows (until now).

[Nigel Heather]

[Quote]”Oh you young peoples, old gamers like me started in pre internet time and got nothing but books. (And had to walk 15 miles through snow to school 😉 )“[/Quote]

A bit presumptuous of you, I’m 57, not often I’m called young 😉

Seriously though, time is precious, I don’t expect to have to google to see whether I have all the parts, what it should look like when it is finished and find a YouTube video to work out how to assemble it.  And then to find that the parts don’t even fit together.

Honestly, this is where I am buying from Rubicon where I can.  Can’t fault Warlord Games for their wide range but their execution leaves a lot to be desired.  There is also the ‘can’t be bothered attitude’.  I ‘m just finishing a Blitzkrieg leIG 18 – I’m really jealous of the Heer version, the winter version, the SS version because they have crews that are operating the gun – but with the Blitzkrieg version WG obvious just gave up and said “let’s just throw in three guys holding shells – well one is unpacking shells, but no one is actually operating the gun – just plain lazy sculpting.

I’d love to be a supplier to WG – I’d send them a box of bits, no parts list, no assembly instructions and when they called me I’d say “errr I don’t know, have you tried looking on the internet”.

 

Anyway, worked out what they mean with tripod – still can’t get the MG34 to fit on it though because the elevation control mechanism ends up below ground level.  Obviously got to cut something somewhere because I think the tripod is still too low but it won’t bend any more without surgery.

I get the bit about modelling but I really don’t expect to spend hours trying to glue an MG34 to a lafette mount.

Now the WG plastic vehicles (not the Italeri ones) are very good (not quite as good as Rubicon), and their plastic soldier boxes are excellent (better than Rubicon) but their resin and white metal leaves a little to be desired.

Cheers,

Nigel

 

 

[Paul Nettle]

I must confess I find the Warlord Games MMGs too difficult to build and far too flimsy.  Ofter my armies consists entirly of Warlord Games figures apart from the MMGs, which I buy from other manufacturers.  I found the early-war French MMG the worst – even looking at pictures I had no idea how the apparently random bits of metal connected.  Still, I found the crew figures useful after buying an MMG from a different manufacturer.

[Stuart Harrison]

https://www.facebook.com/groups/boltactioninternational/?post_id=851785528275430

 

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